Doubting Thomas (Tarnished Saints Series) (9 page)

Chapter 9

Angel ran a brush though Gabby’s hair, listening to the little girl’s dream, but all the while thinking of a dream of her own. Thomas Taylor had her down on the bed and was kissing her with the passion of a man in love. In the dream, she had willingly let him touch her in the most intimate places, and button by button undo her blouse til she sat there in nothing but her bra.

“Mommy, did you hear what I said?” Gabby turned around and looked up to her with big blue eyes.

“Hmmm?” she asked, knowing she hadn’t been fair to her daughter. She’d promised to spend the entire day with her, and she would, but all she could think about was those six Taylor boys and the way a mere cookie meant the world to them.

Her heart went out to them and she knew what she had to do. She had to file a case on Thomas Taylor, but a part of her kept saying to wait. She’d seen something in his eyes she couldn’t explain, and they didn’t seem to be the eyes of a child abuser. She had to go back there and gather more information before she came to any conclusions.

“Come on,” said Gabby, pulling her off the bed and down the stairs. “Agnes has packed a picnic lunch for us. We can go on our hike and stop and have a picnic somewhere in the woods. Won’t that be fun?”

“Yes. That sounds great, Gabby.”

Angel followed her down the stairs, the phone splitting the air as it rang. Clarence and Agnes had a loud speaker attached to a pole just outside the house so they could hear the phone ring while out on the lake or working in the yard.

“Oh, hello Tillie, how are you?” she heard Agnes say. “Yes, that’s fine. I’ll be looking forward to it. You want to talk to Angel? Yes, she’s right here.”

Angel looked up at the mention of her name. Agnes held out the phone to her, but it wasn’t a cordless. She wanted to tell Tillie what she’d found out about Thomas Taylor, but she couldn’t do it with so many people listening.

“Do you have another phone where I can talk where it’s . . . quieter?” Angel asked.

“Why yes,” said Agnes. “We have one in the living room, one in our bedroom, one -”

“Agnes,” said Clarence. “Just let her use the one in the bedroom where it’s more private.”

“Yes, that’ll be fine,” Angel said and headed to the room by the front door. She picked up the receiver and greeted her friend. “Hi Tillie.”

“Angel, how are you enjoying your stay at Aunt Agnes’s Bed and Breakfast?” she asked.

Angel waited until she heard the click of the extension before she continued.

“Your aunt and uncle are very hospitable,” she said, trying to sound polite by not saying they were driving her crazy.

“Has Aunt Agnes showed you how to play Canasta yet?”

“Oh yes, that’s a favorite past time around here. Although, I can’t say I’ve been spending much time at the house, as I’ve been over at Thomas Taylor’s.”

“And?” Tillie said anxiously, waiting for more info. “Are you going to call in to Child Services to report him, or not?”

“I’m not sure,” she said, hearing some static on the phone. “Everything I’ve seen over at Thomas Taylor’s leads me to believe that he is an unfit father. The fridge is nearly void of food, they don’t even have an oven, and the kids sleep on the floor. He works them so hard that they are as thin as rails, and he even admitted that he never lets them play.”

“That’s terrible,” said Tillie. “You should report him right now and have those kids taken away from him. Especially, if he murdered his wife. It’s not safe for them to stay there.”

She heard a slight click over the phone. A click that sounded a lot like someone on the extension.

“I’ve got to go, Tillie. We’ll talk more later.”

“We sure will,” she said. “I’m coming up tomorrow with Stacy to spend some time with my aunt and uncle. Brian’s away on business and it’s just the two of us until the end of the month.”

“Great!” said Angel. “Then Gabby and Stacy can play.”

“And I can free you up a bit so you can go investigate the Taylor residence again.”

She’d had the same thought in her mind, and also guilt for even thinking it. She was here to vacation with her daughter, yet she couldn’t stop thinking about Thomas Taylor and his six sons.

“I don’t know if this whole thing is such a good idea, Tillie. I wanted a vacation with Gabby. It’s not really fair to her.”

“And it’s not fair to those poor Taylor boys if they’re being abused or neglected. They need you, Angel. Just as much as Gabby needs you right now.”

Angel said her goodbyes, thinking about what Tillie had said. She was right. It was up to her to help those poor boys. If she didn’t do something soon, they may never know what it is to play or ever taste a cookie again.

Angel put down the receiver and walked out of the room, only to bump into Nat Finster on his way down from the second floor. Clarence sat on the couch next to a phone, his face half hidden behind a newspaper. Gabby was watching the birds out the window, and Agnes was hovering around the phone in the kitchen, cleaning the counter which wasn’t even dirty. She couldn’t help wondering which one of them had picked up the phone.

“Well, good morning Angel,” Nat said with a greasy smile. Angel didn’t like him using her nick name, but decided to let it go. The more she made of it, the more he’d do it just to get a stir from her, she was sure. Reporters liked to rile up people and catch them off guard to learn things they only twisted into untruths in the end.

“Good morning Mr. Finster. I’m sorry I don’t have time to talk, but I’ve promised my daughter I’d take her on a hike and a picnic since I didn’t spend time with her yesterday.”

“Yes.” He stood on the stair above her, which only made him eye level to her own height. “I heard you took cookies over to that murderer’s house.”

“Thomas Taylor is not a murderer!” She shocked herself by her own outburst, wondering what it was that caused her to defend him so rapidly.

“You sound so sure of it. Tell me, what is he like? I heard he pulled a gun on the Ainsleys. And that he has six boys he doesn’t feed. Also, that they are out til all hours of the night, and the little one doesn’t even own a pair of shoes.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said brushing past him. “Come on, Gabby. Grab the picnic basket and let’s get going before it gets too hot.”

“Oh, here you are,” said Agnes bringing over not one picnic basket, but two. “I thought I’d pack some extra food just in case you see those poor, hungry Taylor kids along he road. I made sure to add extra cookies.”

“Thank you Agnes, but I only need our basket. I don’t plan on going anywhere near the Taylor’s land today. This is going to be a special day with just me and Gabby.”

“Let’s go, Mommy,” said Gabby, rushing across the room. “I can’t wait to go out rock hunting.”

Angel took one basket only, and headed for the door. She tried to ignore Agnes insisting she take the other, and Clarence arguing with his wife that it was silly to carry all those heavy baskets on a hike. Nat just watched them through his beady little eyes, and Angel was glad to get out into the fresh air.

Well, where do you want to go?” asked Angel, starting down the gravel road.

“There,” said Gabby pointing at the large swamp hidden in the woods in the direction of the Taylor’s place. “And after our hike I want to go explore the woods and have our picnic there.”

“Oh, I don’t know sweetie. I think we should have our picnic by the blue-gill pond instead.”

“You promised I could go wherever I want,” she said, and Angel saw the pout coming over her daughter’s face.

“All right,” she said. “We’ll go wherever you want, because this is your day.”

They hiked around the blue-gill pond, taking time to hunt for pretty rocks and put them in their pockets. When their pockets were full, they started putting some in the picnic basket until it became too heavy and Angel insisted they sit down and eat.

Angel spread the plastic tablecloth Agnes had given them on the ground in the woods, and then the food atop it. The basket was filled with food, way too much for two people, but it didn’t surprise Angel. Mrs. Ainsley was always trying to please her guests and this was no exception.

Gabby gobbled down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a sweet roll, and a huge pickle before she got thirsty and asked for something to drink. Angel pushed aside the chicken legs, roast beef sandwich, chips, two apples, and a huge plate of cookies before she came across two big bottles. One held cranberry juice, and the other water. Alongside, sat two plastic cups. No wonder the basket was so heavy.

She nibbled on a chicken leg and poured Gabby some juice. Then she lay back on the plastic with her hands behind her head, eyes closed, letting the sunshine warm her face. The sound of birds echoed up high in the trees and chipmunks scurried through the underbrush.

Gabby was gabbing again as usual, telling her about another dream that went on and on forever, and before Angel realized it, her eyes started closing and she dozed off.

The feel of something wet on her face caused her to open her eyes. She jumped up when she realized a dog was licking her face. The two wild dogs were sniffing around her basket and Gabby was nowhere in sight.

“Shoo,” she said, jumping up and waving her hands, but the dogs continued sniffing at the closed basket. “Gabby, where are you?” she called frantically, feeling the rapid beating of her heart, but her little girl was nowhere to be found.

Her mind raced in several directions at once. The dogs were dangerous, and Gabby was out there alone. Who knew where she was, or if she’d fallen in the creek leading through the forest. She cursed herself now for ever closing her eyes.

“Gabby!” she called, moving back from the dogs and picking up a big stick. “Don’t you dare hurt my little girl,” she said to the animals in front of her.

“They won’t,” came a voice from the tree. She looked up to see a freckled-faced smile and bright red hair.

“Zeke, what are you doing up there?”

“They’re just hungry,” he said, climbing to a lower limb and then dropping to the ground. He fell on his arm and got up rubbing it. That’s when she noticed it was the same one that was bruised. “Can I give them some food?” he asked, motioning toward the basket.

“Whatever it takes, just get them out of here.”

The boy was calm around the dogs, and Angel remembered his father saying he liked animals. She also remembered he was the one who had given her a kitten to hold. The boy opened the basket, grabbed the chicken legs and held them out to the dogs. They growled and moved closer.

“Just throw down the food and get away before they bite you,” she shouted.

“No,” he protested. “I want them to take it from my hand so they know they can trust me.”

“Trust you? And do you trust them? They may just bite off your hand in the process.”

“Come here,” he called to the dogs. Little by little they moved forward. Angel felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She was ready to beat off the dogs with the stick if they should start attacking Zeke.

Cautiously, the dogs grabbed the chicken legs in their mouths and disappeared quickly into the woods to devour them.

Angel put down her stick and packed up the basket hastily.

“You are one brave little boy,” she said. “Thank you for helping me. Now excuse me, as I need to find my daughter.”

“If you leave some more food for the dogs, they’ll remember it and won’t be so nasty next time,” he said.

She looked at him, wondering if it was true. She no longer cared. She just wanted to find Gabby before it got dark. The girl was probably frightened and crying somewhere deep in the woods by now. She never should have closed her eyes. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to her little girl.

Angel took whatever food was left and laid it on the ground. She noticed Zeke’s eyes scanning the contents.

“You’re welcome to any of the food you’d like,” she told him.

He hesitated when she brought out the plate of cookies, but then shook his head.

“Pa doesn’t like us taking handouts.”

“It’s not a handout. Think of it as payment for helping me with the dogs.”

“No,” he said, taking the plate and emptying the cookies onto the ground. “The dogs will be back. I want them to be full so they don’t steal any more of our chickens.”

“They took your chickens?” she asked in surprise.

“It was my fault,” he admitted, “but I didn’t tell Pa. I left the gate open after I gathered the eggs. I was in a hurry to play with the kittens.”

“Mistakes can happen to anyone,” she said, rubbing a hand over the boy’s head. “I’m sure your father would understand.”

“No,” he said. “I don’t think so.” A frown replaced his previous smile and she knew she should change the subject.

“Let’s go look for Gabby,” she suggested. “She tends to always wander off to look at something or another, but she doesn’t usually go far.”

“Okay,” he said enthusiastically. “And I’ll show you some of my favorite hiding spots in old logs and atop mossy hills along the way.”

“All right,” said Angel, knowing this meant a lot to the boy. “I would like that.”